Your U.S. tax status depends on your U.S. immigration status and U.S. presence. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) categorizes foreign nationals into one of two ways: Resident Aliens for tax purposes or Nonresident Aliens for tax purposes.
Resident Aliens (RAs) are taxed liked U.S. citizens while Nonresident Aliens (NRAs) are taxed under different rules. See Foreign National Tax Terminology to learn about the differences between RAs and NRAs.
The following general information is offered as a resource to foreign nationals at Columbia University. The information should not be considered tax advice and individual circumstances may not be covered by this information. Columbia University does not provide individual tax consultation.